When people talk about dog rescue, there's always that question: who rescued who?

“Having him really uplifts me and gets me through day by day” Vivian Alex explains.

In the case of Alex and her dog, Courage, there’s no doubt they have a special bond “I'm going through a domestic violence right now and he's really my support” she said.

Last Thursday, Alex had Courage with her when she and a friend stopped to take photographs in a Seattle neighborhood.

They opened the car door and moments later heard a scary noise “it was so quick and all we heard was scratching and a yelp and he was already down the cliff” Stacy Boyd said.

Courage was trapped on a ledge, 30 feet down.

They called 911 who transferred them to animal control who said they weren't prepared for a rescue and then someone jogged up “the jogger suggested calling the rock climbers and she's part of that rock climbing club.”

Tyson Schoene is a climbing coach at Vertical World and he happens to be a dog daddy to a few Chihuahuas. He was just about to leave for the day when his co-worker grabbed him and told him about the phone call they just received.

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“We just got a call there's a Chihuahua that just fell over a cliff and we got to go rescue. I honestly thought he was joking and I'm like really?” he said.

He was there in minutes and had his gear out and dropped down to Courage.

“He was very calm, he let me pick him up right away and at that time I noticed that his left front leg was snapped in half, basically.”

He comforted courage and then tucked him into his backpack and took him back to his mom. It was his first time using his climbing skills to rescue a dog but Tyson says Courage came to his rescue that day “last week we lost one of ours” he said. “We lost our oldest Chihuahua, it was special, I needed it as much as he did.”

He'll be in his cast for 6-8 weeks but his spirits are strong. He’s a little trooper, making due on his three good legs and still bringing comfort and courage to those around him.